Last Week

This is the last week of our 2017 summer study session. We are now in the process of putting away the materials, equipment, and supplies in a way that will make it possible for us next summer to pick up were we left and continue our work.

The effort this summer was divided into three parts: Distributing samples to specialists for analysis; conducting some on-site studies; and restoring pottery. Samples distributed included animal bones, shells, and organic matter. On-site analyses included lithics, stone and clay figurines (to be continued), and grind stones and tools. We still need to have samples taken from certain figurines to determine whether they were locally produced.

While restoring pottery we encountered some difficulties, especially when we didn’t have all the pieces. In these instances, we needed to build wooden contraptions to hold the vessels together until further completion.

See this for example:

Or this one:

The largest vessel we partially restored is this holemouth. We hope more of it is in sealed boxes we did not open this time but will next summer.